Part two of a three part series
In our last post (part one) we introduced the subject of head injuries with an overview of trauma patterns
typically found in head injury patients. Today let’s talk about bleeding inside the skull or intracranial hemorrhage.
Brain hemorrhage occurs when blood vessels inside the skull rupture. There are some non-traumatic causes as well. Ruptured aneurysms and hemorrhagic strokes would be a few examples of non-traumatic intracranial hemorrhages.
We classify bleeding in the skull by location, using the layers of the meninges as a guide. You may recall from EMT class that the meninges are fluid coated membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. They also encapsulate and limit the ways that blood can move inside the skull. How the brain bleeds is entirely dependant on which meningeal layers capture and contain the blood.
Do you remember those meningeal layers? Lets do a quick review in case you’ve forgotten, courtesy of our friends at ADAM education:
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Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 6:00 am. 1 comment
Part one of a three part series.
It seems that after the tragic deaths of both Natasha Richardson and Billy Mays, head injuries have been 
getting a lot of play time in the media. Richardson died of an epidural bleed after a helmetless fall on skis. Mays was found to have an enlarged heart, but the minor head injury he received the night before his death launched speculation that he had died from intracranial bleeding as well.
Both of these incidents bring to light an important element of head injury response and evaluation. Patients with critical, life threatening brain injuries don’t always present as sick. Often they report feeling just fine. The emergency responder needs to approach head injuries with a high index of suspicion.
Today were going to begin a three part series on head injuries. In part one we’ll take a look at the different ways the skull and brain get injured. In part two we’ll talk about how the brain bleeds and how that can change the patients presentation. In part three we’ll look at treatment considerations for the head injured patient.
Let’s do a quick review of what’s inside your head:
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Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 6:00 am. 6 comments
